Friday, September 28, 2012

The week comes to an end with the last part of this long paragraph being added on.

The resurrection made possible an understanding of being human as in some way, yet to be discussed, unnecessarily involved in death. It is, as it were, the fact of the resurrection which revealed the fact of unnecessary human involvement in death, the possibility of forgiveness reaching even into human death. However, there is more than this. The resurrection mad possible a shift of perception on the part of the apostolic group as to the content of human involvement with death. This is related to what the disciples had not understood while Jesus was teaching them before his death and to what they did understand after his resurrection. This nonunderstanding is clearly presented in all the Gospel as related to Jesus' death in a rather particular sense. It was not that they merely did not understand, and after the resurrection, with the coming of the Holy Spirit, they did understand. The nonunderstanding of what Jesus was about was marked by the normal human limit of understanding which is that death is a definitive reality, and therefore that their relationship to Jesus and what he was teaching was something circumscribed by the normal parameters of human life and death. Jesus' understanding was not marked by that understanding: he was thus able creatively to imagine the possibility of a self-giving into the hands of violent men as not only a salvific revelation of the sort of love the Father is, trusting himself into his Father's hands, but also as an educational exercise for those as yet unable to understand the nondefinitive nature of death.

Jesus was not marked by that notion of the 'normal parameters of human life and death' and that is the breakthrough. There is no way to know what Jesus was thinking. Alison is himself imagining what Jesus must have been imagining (that's my thought). It is that ability to imagine what is not yet that keeps the children of God breaking through the barriers in life that seem to keep us wrapped up in our brokenness. I had to stop for a moment as I read "(Jesus) was thus able creatively to imagine the possibility of a self-giving into the hands of violent men" because it is not the place into which I would imagine myself. And yet, the violence of the world will not be brought down until we - like the one we call Lord, Jesus, imagine another way and begin to take that way - no matter what might be the cost. In Jesus, we see that this kind of life through death imagination is a power that can make life expand so that the healing of the whole cosmos will not be a mere dream - but a living reality that pops up here and there. Death (that creature of many faces and many heads) can be faced by people whose imagination is able to pull back the curtain and see the truth of God's power for life.

Connection: It is my hope that this talk of imagination is not merely something that comes when one gets older. Maybe it is - maybe faithful imagination is like wisdom that is not moved by the events of the day that can stir up anxiety. Maybe this imagination is what is needed in our world - rather than the anxious hearts of politicos who thrive on ways to avoid death and its many faces - rather than imagine the way through death and into the healing of the world.

O God of life, you open up the shalom of your Reigning power and we are given a place to gaze beyond the troubles at hand. Keep our hearts tuned to such a vision for life that does not hold back. Amen.

Thursday, September 27, 2012

The resurrection made possible an understanding of being human as in some way, yet to be discussed, unnecessarily involved in death. It is, as it were, the fact of the resurrection which revealed the fact of unnecessary human involvement in death, the possibility of forgiveness reaching even into human death. However, there is more than this. The resurrection mad possible a shift of perception on the part of the apostolic group as to the content of human involvement with death. This is related to what the disciples had not understood while Jesus was teaching them before his death and to what they did understand after his resurrection. This nonunderstanding is clearly presented in all the Gospel as related to Jesus' death in a rather particular sense. It was not that they merely did not understand, and after the resurrection, with the coming of the Holy Spirit, they did understand. The nonunderstanding of what Jesus was about was marked by the normal human limit of understanding which is that death is a definitive reality, and therefore that their relationship to Jesus and what he was teaching was something circumscribed by the normal parameters of human life and death.

I deliberately stopped here because the next few sentences speak about Jesus' understanding and I don't want to go there yet. I am in the realm of these disciples. I am one who only knows the limits that seem to be in place in and through all times. And yet, that is not the way of Jesus. I can hear that again and again, and yet fear and anxiety keep pulling me back into he realm of unbelief. I can think about how the resurrection life is for all people and yet I will not allow myself the freedom to walk toward that reality. I am limited by death - by any and many of death's faces - by that which is not yet and yet I don't want to give it a chance. Within those 'normal parameters of human life and death' I sit dying. Isn't that odd. And yet, that is what life becomes - existence ruled by death. That - we are told again and again - is not life at all. So, I call on that Holy Spirit of God to give me a life - give me the courage - the character - the love, to never shy away from life that will involve a cross and death. Still - always frightening.

Connection: Too often the church doesn't let itself deal with death - the power that tries to rip love to pieces. Therefore we do not touch the issues that can divide - we do not embrace the ones with which we may become 'associated'. For in these kinds of situations, it may be the death of us - socially, politically, relationally - and we are not sure we can make it into new life. Therefore, we remain inside of normal life and never within the expansiveness of resurrection life.

O God of life, open our eyes to see the life you have ready for living. Amen.

Today I'm making a switch to another part of Alison's book. It is the chapter named "The Intelligence of the Victim and the Distortion of Desire". I'm hoping it will make us all look a bit differently at the resurrection and the life that comes through it. I will start with my usual 'growing text' so as to keep together one stream of Alison's writing.

The resurrection made possible an understanding of being human as in some way, yet to be discussed, unnecessarily involved in death. It is, as it were, the fact of the resurrection which revealed the fact of unnecessary human involvement in death, the possibility of forgiveness reaching even into human death

He captures me with the comment about how we as humans are unnecessarily involved in death - when we consider the resurrection. There is something more grand - more thorough - than death - and we have been shown that it is the power of forgiveness. This 'forgiveness' is a power (available to humanity) that does not let death win the day. In fact, no matter what power death may have and no matter what part humanity may play in that power, forgiveness opens up to us a life in which death is not the last word. We could say that we hold a secret that must be let out to the world - a word of truth that moves us out of the realm of death and into the realm of possibilities outside of our usual limits.

Connection: Giving forgiveness a try is a must - it is the resurrection power for life and it is ours to enter and ours to hand off to the world. Seems like nothing at all - but it is the power to counter death.

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Alison also goes on to write about the universal quality of idolatry and he does that by turning to Romans.

It is not only sin that is universal, but for anyone who believes in the goodness of God that has been made manifest in the handing over of Jesus followed by his raising up, then righteousness is universally available. It is of course the same insight that has brought the understanding of wrath to its sharpest definition - the killing of the Son of God - that made it possible to be set free from wrath. This is the import of (Romans) 5:9: "Since therefore we are now justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath." The true understanding of wrath came about exactly at the same moment as there emerged the possibility of being freed from it: it is the forgiveness of the resurrection which defines the nature of sin.

We will be saved from this idolatrous 'moving away' from the life God hands us as the beloved of God. The world of paybacks and vengeance and retribution and put-downs comes to an end through the forgiveness that we see on massive display in the resurrection. Out idolatry - our sin - our turned-in-on-selves, is exposed as wrath. Our lives are set with a resurrection freedom that opens up the truthfulness about ourselves and how our way of running our worlds is quite contrary to the vision of God's Reign. The resurrection destroys the wrath that has made life hell for all of us. We are people of God's shalom - God's forgiveness, and it is the power for new life even in the face of the brutality of our world. Maybe it is right to say that life outside the bounds of forgiveness is not life at all. Therefore, the resurrection can be said to bring us life - really life. Not the same old games of violence and rivalry and death.

Connection: More and more I hear the call for life - for action - for movement of this resurrection reality into the very heart of the day at hand in which we enter as followers of Jesus. It is an 'at the cross' kind of life and therefore it can appear frightening. And yet, it is also a life that comes with promise - new life will rise - new life will emerge as the way in which we can walk through any day. Our brokenness will dog us - but we have been told that it does not have the power to win the day - so let's forgive and try out the new day - no matter what threat may be in the air.

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Alison writes about Paul turning upside down the old notion of wrath - that's where we begin today.

So we have a gradual ironic subversion of the language of wrath, whereby that which is initially seen as something active (God being angry) is recast to show God being righteous in the midst of human anger, but without losing the word "wrath." Something of the same process can be seen (but more obviously) in the Johannine reworking of the theme of God's judgment whereby God's judgment of humanity consists not in any judgment actively exercised by God, but in the judgment undergone by Jesus at the hands of human beings. We are judged by our relationship to that judgment. We see then how God "handed over" Jesus to us can be described as God's wrath, when the content of that wrath is the human violence exercised against Jesus, or the simultaneous handing over of ourselves to idolatry typified in the killing of Jesus.

It is important to remember (as Alison does point out later) that Paul was at a much earlier stage of writing on wrath than John was - years and years earlier. Therefore when he notes that it is easier to see this in John - well, there were many more years of thought and development going on. God remains the righteous God in the midst of all the human dynamics around the death of Jesus. Well, those same human dynamics are the ones that produce what looks like wrath among us. Yet, this 'wrath of God' is really the actions and life of you and I and how we - in our idolatry - attempt to have the world go our way or the highway. God continues to be the just and benevolent one even as we find many ways to live and act contrary to the righteousness of God.

Connection: I don't think I have this connection in place, but as I read this about the wrath of God and see the horrible violence over that dumb movie about Islam, I wonder if we really do need to look at the lives and actions of people of faith in order to see the character of God. A benevolent and gracious God - creative in all our days - does not need to be defended. We tend to want to defend our own inadequacies. Therefore, God is God - always. We, on the other hand, often turn everything around and lose the vision of God's peaceable Reign.

O God of life, make us into your people peace that your righteousness will shine brightly. Amen.

Monday, September 24, 2012

The word "wrath" (orge) appears ten times in Romans. Only once does it appear as the wrath of God (Romans 1:18). On the one occasion where it appears to be something inflicted by God on people as a result of our wickedness (Romans 3:4) Paul expressly indicates the mythical nature of the terminology ("I speak in a human way"). On all the other occasions where the term appears (2:5, 8; 4:15; 5:9; 9:22; 12:19; 13:4, 5) it is impersonal. Even in the first case where the "orge" is linked to theou (God) the content of the wrath of God is itself a demystification of a vindictive account of God (whose righteousness has just been declared). For the content of the wrath is the handing over by God of us to ourselves. Three times in the following verses the content of the wrath is described in terms of handing over: 1:24; 1"26; and 1:28. That is to say, the wrath rather than being an act of divine vengeance, is a divine nonresistance to human evil. However, I would suggest that it is more than that. The word "handed over" has in primitive Christian sources a particularly subtle set of resonances. For God is described as handing over his own son to us in a text no further from our own than Romans 8:32. The handing over of the son to us and the handing over of ourselves to sin appear to be at the very least parallel. The same verb (handed over) is used in 4:25, where Jesus was handed over for our trespasses and raised for our justification. I would suggest that it is the handing over of the son to our killing him that is in fact the same thing as handing us over to our own sins. Thus wrath is life in the sort of world which kills the son of God.

I'd like to jump right to the last line: Thus wrath is life in the sort of world which kills the son of God. The wrath brews among the people. God is always brining into reach the shalom of God's Reign. We turn from that relationship of healing and peace and creativity for the well-being of all and attempt to make something of our own - even if it means we must put to death the ways of God's Reign of peace. Instead of a balance of life in which a variety of people can live together within relationships of mutual care and respect, the tables get tilted toward one person or another (which is also a tilting away from others). People lust after the world that pleases them (a world with many faces and many actions) and forget about the shalom of God that seeks the welfare of all. People pursue their idea of a wonderful life that gives them all they want and more of the same until they cannot even see the life of God's promises. In the middle of all our cravings that pull us away from one another and make of ourselves gods who must have what we claim we must have, we enter a life within a world which kills the son of God - or let's say all the children of God - save those who we can use for our own good. Sounds like a hell brewing - me left with me and those who go along with me.

Connection: We do 'shoot ourselves in the foot' with all the ways we attempt to be the controlling agent in life and leave God's promise of shalom sitting back unattended. Who has room within the day for God's peaceable Reign to come to life when I must grab what I want to grab for myself - or be what I want to be at any cost?

O God of life, you remain beside us - faithfully the God of Hope and Promise even as we become people who attempt to turn away and rule our lives. Walk with us again this day. Amen.

Friday, September 21, 2012

Today we will look at a bit more of this 'wrath of God' from Alison's work with Paul in Romans - in "The Joy of Being Wrong. I may hold onto today's piece for awhile.

The word "wrath" (orge) appears ten times in Romans. Only once does it appear as the wrath of God (Romans 1:18). On the one occasion where it appears to be something inflicted by God on people as a result of our wickedness (Romans 3:4) Paul expressly indicates the mythical nature of the terminology ("I speak in a human way"). On all the other occasions where the term appears (2:5, 8; 4:15; 5:9; 9:22; 12:19; 13:4, 5) it is impersonal. Even in the first case where the "orge" is linked to theou (God) the content of the wrath of God is itself a demystification of a vindictive account of God (whose righteousness has just been declared). For the content of the wrath is the handing over by God of us to ourselves. Three times in the following verses the content of the wrath is described in terms of handing over: 1:24; 1"26; and 1:28. That is to say, the wrath rather than being an act of divine vengeance, is a divine nonresistance to human evil. However, I would suggest that it is more than that. The word "handed over" has in primitive Christian sources a particularly subtle set of resonances. For God is described as handing over his own son to us in a text no further from our own than Romans 8:32. The handing over of the son to us and the handing over of ourselves to sin appear to be at the very least parallel. The same verb (handed over) is used in 4:25, where Jesus was handed over for our trespasses and raised for our justification. I would suggest that it is the handing over of the son to our killing him that is in fact the same thing as handing us over to our own sins. Thus wrath is life in the sort of world which kills the son of God.

The content of the wrath "is the handing over by God of us to ourselves". This is like the 'garden'. We are given the freedom to take control - to make rules - to designate who is right and good and worthy and who is not - who can be eliminated and who can be considered put out. In Romans, this wrath keeps showing that we continue to march away from God - more and more deeply into our own world in which we are the lords of the day. This 'day' is usually filled with the warring madness in which the love of God does not show through. Rather we take it all in and we keep it for ourselves - even if we must take from others - or kill - or ruin reputations - or lie - or cheat. We all know that story intimately. Paul's use of sexual lust is a good way to show how 'human' this stuff is. It is as natural as sexuality that is a part of all of us and can be something that is used to satisfy our little god-like selves at any cost and no matter how it exchanges the shalom of God for some self-serving goals that tend to make fools of us. To pick on one aspect of our human sexuality is foul. It is part of the great avoidance. It serves the ongoing wrath of God that is the scapegoating of the other.

Connection: How in the world do we resist this cycle? It is as though we must be willing to act contrary to the ways we think things should go. Maybe that is why we say we should 'prayerfully consider this or that' before we act. In those moments - in conversation with others - we are given insight and courage and wisdom to look into the face of God and see the promise of life that is being handed to us by our God.

O God of life, save us from ourselves and open our hearts to the vision of your Reigning love. Amen.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Today begins a sections in which Alison looks at the writings of Paul. He notes that already in Paul the same themes are present in regard to this subversion of thought about God and sin as was present much later in the writing of John's gospel.

In the first place we can see that for Paul the Gospel is the Gospel of the righteousness of God. This is what the death and resurrection of Jesus has revealed for him. That is shown in Romans 1:17 and again in Romans 3:25. What has happened in between these two references is that Paul, because of the necessity of clarifying the question of the exact theological nature of the law, has gone in for a long explanation of the inverse consequences of the same revelation of the righteousness of God : the revelation of what he calls the wrath of God. The content of this revelation is exactly the same as what I suggested above: that all human are constitutionally wrong (we all have a 'debased mind," 1:28) and constitutionally idolaters, as is demonstrated by our not knowing the righteousness of God. It would be well to examine this notion of the wrath of God because of the easy misunderstanding to which it is prone.

It is always amazing to me when things in life come together at the same time - mystical in a way. We are just starting a study of Romans and with that, moving into this part of Romans. Nice to have a few comments from outside the realm of those who write on Romans. Within the realm of the righteousness of God we are handed the reality of our God whose love it eternal - a love that is for us in and through all things. Paul will attempt to give that word to the church in Rome. As Alison puts it, Paul uses the inverse consequences of that revelation of love (God's righteousness) to point to that loving nature. Unfortunately, in chapter one of Romans, it can easily appear as though the focus is about our morality. No. It is more about God who can and who does rescue us and hold us close even as we keep turning and trusting in some other life. Literally throwing ourselves into the arms of more and more brokenness rather than facing up to the truth that we are the beloved of God and one shaped by that love for life. This is why for me Romans 1 has never been the 'word' about homosexuality. As ignorant as I can be in the face of 'scholars', this passage is about all of us - all of us who are constitutionally idolaters. Instead we do what we usually do - we scapegoat and point our fingers at the morality of others rather than at the love of God that can bring home any and all of us when we turn our face from God's loving embrace as we pursue other gods.

Connection: For too long, we define ourselves by what we are not. That is fine as we move to come to more and more clarity about the power of God's love. But too often defining ourselves by the negative turns into wars and witch-hunts and one-upmanship. That is our foul disorder. Yes we can point to a life that is shining with the brightness of God's righteousness breaking out - that is why we keep going back to the cross - to the life of the saints of God who turn our heads and make our hearts beat to the tempo of God's belovedness. So rather than exclude, our witness shines when we open the doors even as that is not in sync with the pressures of a culture that lives by scapegoating.

O God of life, you alone shine with life that makes the shalom of your Reign come alive. Feed us again and again with that peace and grace and love that your shalom shines out among us. Amen.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

In the next few days I will copy what James Alison writes about 'the subversion from within of the understanding of sin that is operated by Jesus' death and resurrection' - he does two things and today is the second.

The second thing John is doing in his subversion of sin is linking directly the subversion of the understanding of sin with the subversion of the understanding of the Father. This is what is meant by the Holy Spirit convicting the world with regard to the understanding of righteousness (John 16: 8-11). The new understanding of righteousness was made available by the resurrection opening up the free flow of love between Father and Son. For John, as can be seen from these passages, the change in the perception of God that is brought about by the resurrection is also, simultaneously, a change in the perception of sin.

It is so important to remember that the resurrection does change all things - all things. The love of God will subvert any other notion about God. This could be very discouraging to folks who want God to be as we would be - the one who points a finger and wags it and then will destroy the 'other'. And yet, our God - the God of the resurrection - embraces and liberates and raises from the dead one who is condemned and judged as worthy of expulsion. Crucify him. THAT is God. Why waste our lives trusting in a God who condemns and demands moral purity when our God is one who loves - without limit - without condition - without evidence of good behavior? It is finally God who is righteous and God is righteous because God will be God - not our notion of God. Therefore, the victim - the condemned - become the beloved. God will not be other than the one who loves - right through death and abandonment. In the midst of this kind of love for those who are despised, sin becomes more and more actions of those who must condemn in order to have control over what is right and good. But having control over that which is right and good is to claim to be God - that is the depth of sin. That is the breaking of the first commandment (no other gods) because we attempt to take on the place of God by our judgments to push other out - exclude. In our attempts to be a 'righteous' people we so often become a part of the depth of human brokenness - sin.

Connection: Only God is God. That is the power of the resurrection and it is the end of sin. Only this love - this unbounded love - this love beyond all the death that can be manufactured is God. But now, how does that kind of love - that can raise up the ones who have been push down and thrown out - become visible and available among us?

O God of life, you pull us through death each day and you raise us up to new life. Ignite that life within us so that within the ordinary time around us your love will be visible in each and every act of your beloved people. Amen.

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

In the next few days I will copy what James Alison writes about 'the subversion from within of the understanding of sin that is operated by Jesus' death and resurrection' - he does two things and here is the first.

The first is to depict sin as, in fact, the condition of blindness within which all humans live, unless enlightened by the Light of the World. This blindness is related to a governing principle that has been present from the beginning of the world, and this governing principle is directly linked to an initial murder which has determined the content of the sort of blindness that is being described. This murder-related blindness is able to be perceived for the first time thanks to a different murder (that of Jesus), and the resurrection that enabled the victim to be received as forgiveness. The first beginnings of "sight" about sin consist in the recognition of one's complicity in the murderous order of the world, and therefore of the degree of one's blindness. All other understanding of sin are understandings that are blind to the real order of the world, and are thus all the more blind when they claim to have some insight into what is good or bad without being aware of the dynamism of expulsion that in fact structures their "vision."

In our Brief Order of Confession and Forgiveness, we say that we are 'captive to sin and cannot free ourselves.' In another version we say, 'we have turned from you and given ourselves into the power of sin.' Here we are hearing this 'sin' being the blindness into which we all live. It is more specifically the blindness to the murderous ways of our life together. We may not like the tone of that descriptions. And yet, when we are - in any way - involved (individually or corporately) with the expulsion of others, we are part of that long history of murder. We must see that. We must see that when we look to the Lord of Life as one who was pushed out, put down, and eliminated by the good and righteous powers of his day. We must see that as we push people out (the ways are many and vast) and find it easier to live with the power of blame than with the power of forgiveness and reconciliation, we remain within a blindness we will not claim. Blind - me - no way! We are invited into the land of forgiveness - that turns no one away. That is the beginning of this sight that the world avoids. That is the vision of Jesus and the Reign of God. That is the transformation of our humanity.

Connection: Even the little things - the acts of forgiveness that we simply do - no pomp - no special devotional apparatus - no announcement - is the beginning and the ending of our story of life offered to us by our God and visible through this death and resurrection of Jesus. The little things that can trigger warfare - large and small. The little things that we use to push some out of the sphere we consider 'right and good.' It begins there. That at least offers some light. Yes, we are people who long for light - real light - even when we tend to be so content within our blindness.

Monday, September 17, 2012

New week and yet we press on with that notion of 'caster's out' from James Alison.

It is those who receive the cast-out one who are enabled to live without sin. Righteousness is defined in terms of Jesus, because he goes to the Father, therefore goodness is seen in terms of the loving obedience by which Jesus gave witness to his Father even to death: righteousness is the mutual self-giving of the Father and the Son which we call love, love lived out under the circumstances of victimage. Judgment is redefined in terms of Jesus because in what appeared to be the judgment and expulsion of Jesus, it really was the ruler -- which can equally well be Satan or the governing principle of the world, who was revealed for what he is, and thus judged.

Alison is not saying we can live without sin. That would be ridiculous. He is saying that there is a pattern - a way - a life action that is a part of the life in which the life of sin is pushed to the side for a life of openness to that which is thrown out. In other words, we begin this journey of following Jesus by taking our place alongside the people who the world and all of its many faces ignore or cast out or seek to destroy. That action is the shape of the love that will not let anyone go - not you - not me - not our enemies - not those considered the worst-of-the-worst. This is not a love we readily embrace. It is much easier and much more safe to embrace a limited love - which is not at all the love of God that we see in Jesus. Limited love is the love of the world. Most times, limited love leaves room for hate - destruction - war - brutality - and on and on. Thus, it is not love that is the image of God. It is love that is the image of the 'evil one' - self-indulgent love that fears giving of one's life for the welfare of another - because no one's life is worth my life. When we love like this Jesus we follow - we really make Satan show the colors of hatred right out in the open.

Connection: To live without sin - without that turned-in-on-self that Luther so often described - is to live all the more in that place. For once we place ourselves above the brokenness of our humanity, we place ourselves in that horrible position of blaming others for what is wrong with the world. It is a deadly game. And yet, when we allow ourselves to be with those folks that are often cast out of the circles of our lives, we begin to find new ways to be truly human - truly loving - truly open to the power of God's love that runs through us all.

O God of life, be the wind at our backs that will take us beyond ourselves and the world we like to create so that we can see the image of your face all around us. Amen.

Friday, September 14, 2012

Pressing on in "The Joy of Being Wrong" by James Alison - remember to look up the scripture that is quoted. Also (as I need to remind myself) today is the sixth month anniversary of my heart surgery - life is good - God is full of promise - my wife is the ultimate caretaker - friends are bountiful and a blessing.

This subversion of the original order of the world is brought out again in John 16, where Jesus tells the disciples, in the context of warning them about persecution and being killed, that he will send them the Defense Counsellor.

'And when he comes, he will convince the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no more; concerning judgment because the ruler of this world is judged. (John 16:8-11)

It is exactly this of which we have been talking. The understanding made available after the resurrection of Jesus enables sin, righteousness, and judgment to be seen in an entirely different light. Sin is now recast in terms of Jesus. To believe in Jesus is to believe in the forgiveness of sins made available by the victim risen as forgiveness. Those who do not believe in Jesus remain in sin, because they remain in the mode of caster's out.

I think the description of being casters' out is biting. It is so easily applicable to me - maybe to you also? Casting out is an interesting image. Jesus would cast out demons. That is, he would cast out that which was contrary to the peaceable Reign of God - often this was a demon - or many demons. There would no longer be the power of division leading the way. Get out! There would no longer be the power that kills and maims and pushes out God's beloved. So Jesus, casts out those who are casters' out. What Jesus does when he casts out is that he makes the person whole. That is, he does not destroy them. He heals - he brings them home - he makes them a part of the community - he overcomes that which was an excuse to separate so that now there would be unity. This is the power given to all the followers of Jesus - in fact, this is the character of life we inherit as the children of God - this is our future - this is promise. So when Jesus is 'gone' he continues to be a part of character and action and self-sacrifice that will not tolerate the power of division.

Connection: I remember being a young Roman Catholic who was told to recount the 'sins' I had committed. Most of my 'list' was like a 'okay-it-has-been-two-weeks' how many times have I been less than what I could be. I had categories that were on the 'regular list' - disobeying parents - cheating - lying - stealing. Just enough to show the priest I was thinking about what is the good life and what is a broken life. Well, today I wonder about how we are to prayerfully go about recounting our day and how we participate in being caster's out. Then again, I think it is most helpful to catch ourselves in the act of being caster's out -as it is happening. That - is where the power of the Holy Spirit comes in. It is that tap on the heart - that inspired vision of what can be and who I truly am.

O God of life, inspire us - hold us - push us off into the realm of your grace and love. Amen.

Thursday, September 13, 2012

I've added a bit to yesterday's posting. Also, I have neglected to recommend that you take a look at the scripture that is quoted or mentioned.

What we have then in chapter 9 (of John's gospel - remember the story of the blind man) alone is a worldview of the sin of the world and the way Jesus comes to remove that sin, on his way subverting the understanding of sin completely. When this worldview is linked to other Johannine passages, we begin to get something close to what one might call a theology of original sin. In the first place consider the passage already alluded to in chapter 8 (of John's gospel), where Jesus discusses with the Jews who had believed in him their paternity and his. This passage is the Johannine equivalent of the woes to the scribes and Pharisees which appear in Matthew and Luke, where the ultimate criterion is the same: participation or not in a religion based on murder. Matthew and Luke specifically indicate that the history of murder of which this generation is accomplice goes back to Cain. When John refers to 'your father the devil (who) was a murderer from the beginning' this is also a reference back to the primordial murder which Genesis places at the beginning of human culture. Related to this primordial murder is a culture of lies, lies related to murder, as well as a blindness that cannot see the truth. Abraham was part of the way out of this culture based on the murderous lie, and if Jesus' interlocutors had been sons of Abraham as they claimed, they would not be trying to kill him, but they are trying to kill him, and therefore are the sons of Cain, whose desires were produced by the devil. Where Paul talks of sons of wrath, John talks of sons of the devil, who was a murderer from the beginning. The idea is the same: from the beginning human culture is radically mendacious and murderous. This can be understood only in the light of the Son who reveals the true Father and thus true sonship.

First of all, I once again must make the simple note that when I quote someone I do not change their gender images. In something I was reading for the sermon for this Sunday one author noted that Abraham breaks the cycle of human sacrifice when the story tells of the Ram offered instead of his son. No longer among those who follow in the way of Abraham will there be the offering of human blood for the well-being of others. This doesn't merely mean literal sacrifice on an altar. Rather, no more killing others for the sake of rescuing or saving ourselves from trouble or turmoil. No more killing. No more Cain and Abel. This line of Abraham - this line - will be a line that emerges and grows out of promise - not violence. We will receive life - not take it. In receiving life the future will open up into possibilities not yet visible. When we think we must take life to make life for ourselves, we are a part of the clan that is led by that 'murderer from the beginning - we have many names for that power of death.

Connection: What will be the story we will believe/trust as we move forward in this day? Will it be the lie that has run the world from the beginning of time? Will it be the image of the God who makes promises for new life and then pulls us into that life? I want - I need - to be pulled because I too often will settle for the same old story. And yet, it takes a power beyond my own to break that cycle. This is the place and time for the Holy Spirit. This is the place and time for creative imagination that risks becoming real.

O God of life, open up our hearts that your love will flow through us and carry us into the domain of your gracious and forgiving Reign. Amen.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

I take a few days out of town and forget about my daily routine - sorry. Here is more on this notion of sin and murder and the hook that gets us all.

What we have then in chapter 9 (of John's gospel - remember the story of the blind man) alone is a worldview of the sin of the world and the way Jesus comes to remove that sin, on his way subverting the understanding of sin completely. When this worldview is linked to other Johannine passages, we begin to get something close to what one might call a theology of original sin. In the first place consider the passage already alluded to in chapter 8 (of John's gospel), where Jesus discusses with the Jews who had believed in him their paternity and his. This passage is the Johannine equivalent of the woes to the scribes and Pharisees which appear in Matthew and Luke, where the ultimate criterion is the same: participation or not in a religion based on murder. Matthew and Luke specifically indicate that the history of murder of which this generation is accomplice goes back to Cain. When John refers to 'your father the devil (who) was a murderer from the beginning' this is also a reference back to the primordial murder which Genesis places at the beginning of human culture. Related to this primordial murder is a culture of lies, lies related to murder, as well as a blindness that cannot see the truth.

I will add a bit more to this tomorrow. As for today, I grow more and more concerned about the way we so easily go about murder and threaten murder. Even in the NYT yesterday, there was the rattling of 'guns' from the Israeli Prime Minister over Iran and its nuclear program. Our President is being pushed into saying yes to murder - war - attack. Yes, the whole middle east is in a threatening mess and Israel is in the midst of hostile neighbors, but both Obama and SOS Clinton seem to be able to avoid falling into the trap of saying we will kill those bastards. Rather, I'm hearing some quite mature thinking that is attempting to evolve into acts of non-violence: conversation and mutual trust building. I know that sounds naive but we are people meant to break that cycle of death and threat by simply saying no and putting our own lives on the line - whatever that may mean for each of us. It is worth reading Matthew 23 and hearing the way Jesus goes after the 'system' of religious life as that which is a violent disruption of the shalom of God and yet it is all done within the language and ritual of religious actions and teachings. How do we become non-violent?

Connection: It is already too difficult for me to be non-violent in my thoughts and words. There is always a need to find balance. How am I helping the situation? When is my bitching and griping adding to the murderous atmosphere of the world around me? What are just acts to take up - what are more like revenge and anger? Is the final evaluator one that asks - what is the harm done here - or - who is being sacrificed - or - who is now being the scapegoat?